Cold War Volume 1
by Wonderverse
Summary: A series chronicling Diana's Cold War adventures. Major arcs will focus on WW's SOG service during the Vietnam War.
1. Chapter 1

Cold War

Volume 1

A Wonder Woman Series

Wonder Woman:

San Francisco

Winter 1947

It was hard to believe that the war was over. Of course I was nothing but glad for that; but still... We'd be tallying the many millions dead and countless others displaced wounded and gods knew what else for many years to come. We were already well into rebuilding the world. But we'd already entered another global age of terror; although this era was cold as opposed to hot in terms of war's nature. The insanity now that had to be dealt with was communist; just as bad as fascism in its own way. Back on Themyscira the economics of the island nation were largely simple ones. We were egalitarian and communal; but it wasn't communist. My mother Hippolyta ruled wisely, but not with an iron fist. And if she ever went down the wrong path my Amazon sisters and I would put a swift end to it. But communism was an insanity all its own. It seduced its followers most effectively. It always had. Even back in the eighteen hundreds when I'd explored the old west it had reared its ugly head. Marx had stated that all needed to be in a permanent state of revolution to make everything happen the way it needed to. Central planning was a pipedream at best; a nightmare was more accurate. Since leaving Paradise Island I'd considered myself a reluctant capitalist. Capitalism for all its flaws was still the best way to go; and as Wonder Woman I would do nothing short of defending that truth.

Making things ever worse for this new era was the advent of the nuclear age; an age that could render destruction on a global level that could rival what even the gods could do. It was strange. I'd been in man's world continuously for centuries and it always seemed there was another war or era of such to take over. It could have been Ares manufacturing it; he was War after all. Still, humans could do it all on their own as well.

I'd returned to the US following the war and returned to my cover name of Diana Prince. I'd used this name as an operative during the war. And then of course Wonder Woman had become my immortal accolade. Yet despite the wonders I had performed for the good of all there was still much work to be done; and I hoped that a third war of the global kind did not occur. As I'd had a front row seat to both in most respects that was more than enough to last a lifetime let alone that of an immortal like myself.

As night descended for this newly minted cold war era I turned into Wonder Woman while atop the apartment building that I now called home and took to the air in superhuman flight. It had never seemed natural for me to fly like a bird although the gods had gifted their demigod sister with the capability. I could fly quite fast if I so wished; much faster than the jet aircraft that were now making their debut in history and would surely change everything where aeronautics was concerned. I took my time with this flight; I flew slowly and gently in the urban night. The city looked very peaceful and tranquil. I wondered what the future would bring. This was especially true in the various civil rights struggles that were ongoing and would surely gain momentum now that the insanity that history would forever remember as World War II was now over. The military would soon be desegregated and women's rights would ultimately continue to grow (at least to a degree for the latter). The Forties (my favorite decade for culture and music) had proven to be a progressive time for women. Wonder Woman had been a key role in all of that but so had the war itself. With all of the men gone off to fight (along with a certain Amazon at their side) the women had gone into the factories and such and worked hard for the effort. Rosie the Riveter and all of that jazz. As crazy as this decade had been I didn't want it to end; but all good things in that sense always did. And there could just as easily be a move for culture to return to a more conservative way of doing things; whether it was good/bad was in the eye of the beholder; as was true with most things.

I floated above the downtown closed my eyes and reached out with my hearing. It didn't take long for me to hear the alarm from the ground. My guess was a bank robbery in progress. I angled my body for it and shot down at super speed through the air. I reached the ground at indeed the bank where a good old fashioned heist was well underway. I could make out four robbers in the gloom. I simply stood there with my fists on my hips and waited them out. The coppers wouldn't be there quite yet. And hopefully when they did it would be all over.

The robbers exited and spotted me in the street light. The lead one's eyes widened as he took in my star spangled uniform that had become my signature; and of my commitment to my adopted nation; the best in history.

His other boneheads joined up and brought up their machine guns and fired without delay. Good. I needed some practice. I moved at them with super speed. I knocked their bullets away with my bracelets with tireless ease. I took one thug down, then another, and another. Soon they were all down and out of it. I could have killed them; I'd done it many times during the war; but if the system could work its mojo this time I'd be all for it.

The coppers arrived a short time later as the word had gotten through. "Thank you Wonder Woman," they said. "No problem gents. Book them." They laughed. "That's the idea." I stayed long enough to make sure they got them all into the paddy wagon and watched them drive off; other LEOs remained to secure the crime scene.

A man that could only be a fed by the way he carried himself walked over to me. "Wonder Woman." "Yes?" "I'm Agent Rickey of the Bureau. How'd you like to serve your country again?"

That hadn't really taken all that long, had it...?


	2. Chapter 2

The Nam...

Fast forward a few decades... I needed to go to a point in the cold war that I would forever remember. It was still a point that was bothering my beloved America many decades later in the 21st century. It had many causes/reasons; but this for me was where it all began and/or became most potent. And just like so many of those other same turning point events in history...I was there.

I'd recently joined the newly formed covert MACV SOG after serving with the bureau and Langley from the late forties until now in the mid sixties. It had all been to fight the evil/crazed commies. We'd been busy. I could understand the public's disagreement with the red scare and all of that jazz; but I'd been fighting in the cold war since WW2 had ended. I'd fought in Korea too; and I'd traveled the world putting out their crazy ideological brushfires. I'd infiltrated the USSR and stopped their crap there. Everything the patriots had said about communism was true. These people were positively loony. Their laziness had become pathological and had driven them to madness. And they possessed a dangerous anarchic streak that would go Joker and burn the world to the ground; if we let it.

As an avowed daughter of liberty that had secretly helped the American founders achieve independence from England I most certainly would not let that happen.

The sixties had been a deep/dark time for me. Not in the social sense that it had been for so many others. It was rather those young dirty faces with bent unstrapped army helmets on their heads with half used unlit smokes sticking out of their mouths with blank looks and listening to the endless thrumming of the chopper rotors while staring out open side doors down at endlessly passing rice paddies that I would never forget most about that era. I was there with them too and had shared hell with them.

Most of these boys in my present day are in their seventies now. They are grandfathers that had went on and did many other great things for their country despite the evil crap they'd been forced to endure from domestic commies. Nam vets were royalty to me; and always would be. I thought the same of the Korea guys too. They all deserved justice; hell, they deserved vengeance for what they'd suffered through.

My Nam story picks up in January 1966. The historic battle of Ia Drang had taken place just a few months before. This battle, at least for me, showed what kind of war we would really fight here for years to come; a war that would ultimately bring hundreds of thousands of these very same young dirty faces here to this jungle hell; faces I'd always remember in my immortal mind. Some would make it out; some would not. None would ever be the same again though; including myself.

At this time I was a paramilitary SOG operative/medic assigned to the 6th Air Cavalry Division. Their view of me is what you might expect - admiration adoration and "in love at first sight" all at the same time. It had been the same in all the other wars too. I didn't pay it any thought. I was here to do my job just like they were here to do theirs.

We were heading into the central highlands to do standard hooch clearing. Most/all were Charlie leaning if not outright with him. There were rumors/fragmented intel of NVA spec ops in these areas but we'd find out soon enough. I was also obviously here to watch out for my brother; he'd helped the commies many times in these wars, as he had the fascists and many other warmongers. This was the parts of these war kinds people back home didn't understand. They didn't understand my brother's role in it either. Nothing about these conflicts was ever simple.

Many have asked me if I thought we'd been right fighting in these proxy wars. My answer was always the same. Yes; we were right. Communism was evil/insanity; that was it. You went where the fights were and you fought them. What happened then? We fought the war wrong; but the goal had been right.

And this was excluding my brother and his many hellish agents.

For Nam it was a Charlie assassin named Thep. He'd been made a demonic agent of my brother and was leading the forces here for Ho Chi Minh to win. Stopping this supernatural aspect of the war was one of my main objectives as it had been in past wars.

Brother didn't care about communism; he only cared about conflict. Brother "is" "Apocalypse Now."

I wore a plain jungle uniform/combat boots; only my bracelets/lasso were adorned and gave me away as WW. Beyond that I carried only medical gear to help out when the guys got hurt; and they surely would.

"WW, what do you think we'll encounter here?" said young platoon commander 2nd Lt. John Fitzpatrick; aka Fitz. His kind were infamously called "butterbars". He was a good man though; an idealist that really believed in the Nam mission. He had no idea what was coming... "Be ready for anything LT." He frowned and then gave a delayed nod to that. He'd expected more and/or not that.

For our fault we didn't understand the Vietnamese people and their resolve. "Uncle Ho" had made that point clear many times; he'd been right.

"All right ladies! Two mikes! Get ready!" said the pilot. He then paused at his mistake and added, "Sorry about that WW!" I bent smiled. "No worries chief! I've heard it all before!" The men and I shared a laugh. Actually I was grateful for it; this was what these boys needed before they went into the meat grinder. They'd need it more than I would.

We landed with our Air Cav group. And we all got off and hit the ground using the tall grass for cover/concealment; they'd trained countless times for this. The birds were right up into the air again. This insertion/extraction sequence would become commonplace, and even symbolic, for the war itself; a war both heavily televised and helicopter driven for the first time.

We waited until all was clear; the birds' rotors were already faint on the highland winds. We then stood and moved out in formation. I hung in the middle of the platoon as we moved north for the nearby jungle bush line. I could sense the boys' heartrates and breathing intensify with a mixture of primal apprehension and excitement. I was the only one with any real combat experience beyond platoon Sergeant Blackburn; aka Sarge. He'd fought in Korea so that gave him something solid to work with, but Nam would be unique as Korea had been.

We reached the bush line and entered; for the boys if felt like going from purgatory into hell. They weren't wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

The first village we were to patrol/clear was on the other side of this bush stretch. Command hadn't been too worried at our lack of experience with me and sarge with the boys. But in the end, as with any conflict, they'd only get experience by fighting the war for themselves. My middle positioning in the troop was standard for the medic, to protect them from enemy fire. The medic was traditionally the most non expendable member of the unit, and for obvious good reason; but I wasn't the typical mortal medic either. Still, they'd insisted on keeping it that way. I just said "yes sir" like they did and did it.

Whenever I'd returned home my sisters/mother could never understand why I'd stay in man's world and fight in their conflicts. Unlike them I'd never been forced to stay there; in fact father had willed it that I would leave home and journey through creation to understand it. I could never rule it all if I didn't. Even as a girl growing up on the island I'd spent much time in my other home of Mount Olympus learning about everything from Athena and others. From Athena I'd learned about the arts and sciences early on; things I had always loved. The Amazons had taught me much too, for they too were very educated, but none rivaled the knowledge of Athena. And it was no secret until I'd come around Athena had always been father's favorite child. Then I had become it. But unlike the other gods, Hera included, who'd all grown jealous (minus Ares of course), Athena hadn't given a damn. Ever the "heady" god, she'd simply said, "It was only logical." The Mr. Spock of Olympus, as it were! We did fondly call her "The Logician".

It was my destiny to immerse and be rooted in patriarch's world. True education only came through firsthand experience; father and Athena had said this many times. It had long since became a value to guide me as WW and heir to Mount Olympus.

So my sisters would stay in Paradise and stew over my motives while I was here in the jungle in Southeast Asia to help mortal lovers of freedom to defend that from commie insanity. If communism ever came to Themyscira they'd fight it too. But they weren't here either with these brave souls that were already called baby killer and evil, when in irony the only people that were evil were the name callers. They never said it around me; and for good reason. I'd flatten them; and wouldn't shed a "bloody tear" otherwise as the Brits would say. Funny how their tune always changed in that situation...

Fitz was already doing a good job though as LT. He led from the front. Granted, that wasn't always smart in a setting like this with a determined guerrilla foe but the symbol of it was just as important for morale. The radioman was near him while sarge brought up the rear. The bush thickened considerably. We had to hack through it with machetes to advance any. It would take a good while to get to that nameless village; even longer depending on the bush conditions here.

We remained ever alert. My superhuman eyes scanned the jungle constantly but nothing but bush fauna caught my attention. As it was only about midmorning we still had a good amount of time to get through this if the terrain permitted it. We didn't want to travel at night but that would be up to LT and sarge. We came to a small winding creek and took a small break there. The boys were sweating cannonballs in the already hotter than hell heat whereas I looked like I was strolling through a San Fran park on a nice sunny day.

"How the hell do you do that WW?" said PFC Harvey Dietz, using his towel to brow head and neck. I shrugged. "Being a god helps." Him and several of his nearby buddies scoffed/chuckled. The bugs were also going crazy on them; but as usual left me alone. I gave them the extra repellent, military issue, but I also had some Amazon concoctions that would help too. I'd always prefer the natural remedy over so called fancy stuff. "Spread it on evenly and keep your hands dry to prevent it from dissolving prematurely." I was the unit medic after all; my medical word was law. They did as instructed. The latest application helped a ton. We stayed crouched by the creek.

LT and sarge joined up with me. "How're they doing?" said Fitz. "Good," I said. "Just the usual stuff we covered for." Sarge said, "They think it's bad now they ain't seen nothing yet." Sarge was of course right. Fitz pulled out some maps and went over them with us. Even though I was officially only the medic I had the most experience of anyone here put together. Servicemen had long ago learned to trust in my opinion on all military matters. Generals still asked me for advice; Patton and MacArthur had during the war.

"This first village is likely a Charlie hotbed," said Fitz. "We're going to need to be mean with them." "Amen to that LT," said sarge. "With respect I know you want to save them but only they can save themselves." Sarge's words were hard but wise; Korea had proven similar with him. I hadn't known sarge before Nam but we'd definitely heard of each other in our different parts of that proxy war theater.

Fitz nodded slowly and folded up his map. He looked at all of the men that were not much younger than himself. "I'm going to lose some of these guys soon..." Sarge and I shared a look at that. "Yes, you will," I said; sarge nodded agreement. Intel indicated this region was a hot mess. Engaging the enemy would only prove that. Fitz cleared his throat and nodded. "Okay. WW, keep them ready to fight. We move out in ten." "Roger that."


	4. Chapter 4

The bush stayed thick; the bush heat hellish hot. But we made it to the bush's edge. The first target village beyond that beckoned to us. Lt and sarge scanned it with field glasses; I just used my godly sight. But we were all seeing the same thing. The enemy was here, and could be anyone. This was where that famous saying about killing them all/let God sort them out came to prominence. It wasn't wrong. We were fighting a guerrilla enemy; much as I would fight again after the towers came down years later. Most didn't see the connections here; but I did. This same commie enemy was allied with the Islamic enemy of the future; both were enemies without borders. These wars all helped pave the way for it to ensue. And the MIC was very real, and had its hand of evil in all of this as well. The blood/treasure of the 6th Air Cav right here with me would prove that truth.

"What do you think?" said Lt. "It's a viper's nest all right," said sarge. "Military intelligence finally got it right for a change." We shared a small laugh at that. It was good; a little humor went a long way in a place like this. Especially when death/destruction/suffering was all we would see for years to come. I served here until Saigon fell in 4/1975.

I could sense the eagerness of this virgin/untested unit that had orders to put it on the line. Charlie was the enemy here and we had to take him down. It was Lt's call. "Sarge; split the men into two flanking groups. We'll engage when I give the signal. You'll know what it is." "Got it boss. WW, I want you with me." "Got it sarge."

We moved out. The men gripped their 16s with increasing nervousness. I'd seen that look countless times before; especially with those new to fighting. That was their humanity and instinct kicking in. But that was where training was so important for self control; that's what it helped to do. Being trained as an amazon wasn't all that different than GIs in many ways; just different eras and weapons but much of it was the same. The essentials of war were timeless; be it swords or guns.

This was a special operation; and warrior aggression had to happen. This was where Fitz would prove what a good man he was; he led from the front and had none of his men do anything he wouldn't do himself.

In fact, the first shot of the war for 6AC would be fired by the Lt himself. It was a semi shot; I remember it like yesterday. It rang out in the bush and struck the first of this Charlie hornet nest right in the head. It was a solid range like shot. He dropped; arms/legs flopping as he did so. Then, all hell did break loose. Sarge's side opened up right after that; Lt's came right after that. It didn't take long for it to get intense. The enemy returned fire with their AKs, but we had the bush advantage of concealment and cover, even though surprise had been lost in order to engage the enemy here/now.

Our fire discipline won out and fast; this was Charlie after all; not battle hardened NVA regulars from fighting the French. We dropped them like flies. Both groups came up to firing crouches and slowly advanced from the bush line. We were still too far away for rifle mounted grenade launchers; and we didn't want to use handheld grenade launchers just yet with all the civilians around. Granted, none of these people were innocents in that strict sense. They'd all fallen for Marx's crap; it was all a mental cancer without end. Still, we had to be careful - for enemies both here and back home.

We nailed the main shooters. Lt's group moved in first; sarge had us going in right after him. None of our guys had gotten hit yet. The goal now was to process and secure the village; search everyone else for Charlie affiliations and blow the rest of their hidden crap to hell. As Sog with the ultimate lie detector on me I was also the unit's interrogator. The people freaked out as we entered the village. Many looked at me in astonishment; perhaps recognizing me or just because I was a woman in a man's army. We all wore the same uniform; that's all I cared about.

We entered the village as one loose formation with weapons raised. They were still nervous of course but the action so far had drawn out their courage. Still, it would take that and more to win here; to survive. But bravery was always essential to that occurring. People kept shouting at us but it grew mixed volume wise upon seeing me.

A boy of about ten came towards us; our guns were on him an instant later. He slowed but didn't stop. He smiled and waved at us. This caused the men, especially the younger ones, to relax a little. Many were uncles and brothers of such kids; it reminded them of home.

Sarge and I weren't buying it though. We shared a look as the boy came closer. His innocence drew the men around him; they lowered their weapons and clustered around him... I frowned; then reached out with my hearing...

I heard the ticking; it came from his pocket. I said nothing else. I surged into motion; and at super speed grabbed the boy and threw him up high into the air. This stunned everyone...but then the boy exploded moments later.

The GIs had their weapons on the villagers an instant after that. They barked at the villagers to get on the ground and not move. They did so; reluctantly. The anger and hate was now in their eyes. They focused a lot of it on me; I didn't care.

The men started hooch clearing; a couple had flamethrowers for the added job of razing the village to the ground. As we did so sarge came over to me. "Damn WW...that was awesome." I gave a small nod. We shared a look with Fitz. The pain was already in his eyes; he'd hated seeing that sight; of seeing a boy turned to pink mist in the sky... He looked at me...and slowly nodded. It was his way of saying - thanks for saving our bacon WW. We owe you big time! My nonverbal reply? No problem LT. That's why I'm here; to help!

It wasn't the first "kid weapon" I'd killed before and surely wouldn't be the last.


	5. Chapter 5

Charlie screamed in the lasso's coils. This particular commie nut ball was suspected of being the lead VC contact for the village with his fellow guerrilla commie scum and/or Nathaniel Victor associates. I conducted the interrogation as Lt and sarge coordinated the razing of the village. The boys were gathering up the hidden enemy weapons - which were a good many - and were stacking them together for destruction. Charlie's screams became shrill as people's often did that refused to cooperate with the lasso. He gave one last scream of defiance before his heart gave out.

"Jesus WW; you could hear that from here to Saigon," said sarge while coming into the cleared hooch I was interrogating the enemy in. "Another one bites the dust?" "Yeah." He scoffed and lit up a smoke. "These rats will do that; they really believe in that commie garbage. Same with Korea." I nodded while retracting the lasso from Charlie's dead form and returned it to my hip. "You're Sog, ain't you?" "How'd you guess?" "Well, his death screams sort of gave it away. Medics aren't usually interrogators." "I'm both for this tour sarge." He shrugged. "You'll get no complaints from me. I say kill 'em all and let the Almighty sort them out. Better them dying than us." "Agreed."

PFC Dietz entered the hooch; he gave a quick look at the dead Charlie before looking over at sarge. "Sarge; we found tunnels." "Just great." A couple of our smaller guys were trained "tunnel rats". That was a duty nobody wanted and for good reason. Even I couldn't readily do it being a six feet tall amazonian and all. We left the hooch and followed Dietz. The unit was still split. A couple of the boys doing perimeter search/security found them. The tunnel they found to a greater network was right inside the bush near to where the bush line bordered the village. It was a solid spot to move enemy intel and supplies without being readily detected from ground/air.

"This likely runs to tunnels all around the area," said I. "Many of them date from when they fought the French and the Japanese before that. They're all over the country in areas like this." Sarge said, "We got to clear them all; we got to map them and we got to report every detail to command when that's all been done. Dietz - get the tunnel rats up here RFN." "Right sarge."

As we waited we heard chopper blades on the air. "What the hell?" sarge said; we shared a puzzled look. Lt came up to us with the radioman. "Bad news - press is coming in." "Are you freaking kidding me Lt?" "I wish I were sarge. Stay professional; do the job. That's all that matters." Sarge scoffed but nodded. Fitz looked at me. "WW - a word." I nodded and walked off with him while we got ready for both the press and tunnel clearing.

I had a good idea what this was about. "The dead Charlie?" He nodded. "The press will have a field day with this; torture." "Lt - Fitz - pin it on me. I've done this before; many times." "I know; but that was before the terrible truths of war were televised like they are now." "Fitz - people who've never been in war can never understand what it takes to fight and win one. I told the same thing to Churchill once when Anthropoid was going on. Respectfully, let me handle the press. I will; trust me." He nodded and left it at that.

The tunnel rats came up, readied their pistols/shotguns/flashlights and went in. The press bird continued to close. Now we had to ensure their safety as they were desperate to enter a war zone to get a coveted story before their rivals did. I would not put their safety above my unit's.

The press bird landed/took off again once the reporter and two cameramen were with him. The reporter was Jim Logan; I knew of him. He was an anti military commie scumbag masquerading as a patriotic journo. This couldn't have made our luck worse; but I was here with the guys too; so that was more than sauce for the goose.

Logan had a field day having his cameramen getting the razed village on camera for the latest news feeds. He initially pointed at Fitz being that he was the ranking officer when the cameramen spotted me instead. "It's wonder woman!" They predictably entered my personal orbit an instant later. I made sure to stay away from the guys so they could do their dangerous tunnel job without unneeded distractions. "Wonder woman; we knew you were in country but not right 'here'," said Logan smiling broadly. "This makes my day."

"Let's get one thing straight Logan - stay out of the way. You shouldn't be here." "That's why I am here wonder woman. News happens when/where it does." "Maybe; but I'm here too; and I can make your job very unpleasant." They paled at this. They then saw some of the guys taking the dead Charlie out of the hooch for burning... "What happened to that man?" "He's VC; I interrogated and killed him." "Did these soldiers help in that wonder woman?" "No. I did this of my own accord." "But what is your official function with this US army unit wonder woman?" "That's classified." "We're talking about innocent-" "They're not innocent. They're the enemy." "But-" "Shut it down Logan." "I can't-"

I wasn't in the mood. I grabbed him by the throat and brought his face close to mine. "I said - shut it down." They had this on film but I didn't care. So long as I did it and the guys didn't they were off the hook. He resisted at first; but then I tightened my grip around his throat. I didn't bluff... "Shut - it - down," he choked out. They did so. I dropped him to the ground where he clutched at his throat and gagged/coughed. I took one of their cameras from them and smashed it in my hands then tossed it away like common refuse.

My moment of satisfaction was cut short by a man's scream; a GI scream. It was from the tunnel. Gods; I knew this would happen! Likely a booby trap. "Medic!" I ran over to do my official function; journos hot on my heels.

There, one of the tunnel rats had part of his face burned away. I went to work to save him. From nearby Fitz watched on, powerless; even from this early on in our TOD here I could see part of him die already. It would only get much worse for him and the rest of us.


	6. Chapter 6

The tunnel rat, 19, convulsed from the growing trauma. "Hold him down," I told them. They did so. The wounding wasn't just to his face; the concentrated blast in the tunnel had affected his brain. There was likely brain damage; mostly hemorrhaging taking place. If we didn't get him on a med bird and out of here asap... In the 21st century WOT battlefield his chances would have been much better; but than here in southeast Asia at this time...

I did what I could; but it grew swiftly apparent to all around that he wasn't going to make it. "Mama!" he kept saying over and over; growing with more intensity as he sensed his life force departing this world for where my brother Hades resided. Not necessarily hell; just the underworld in general. He lost his sense of reality. "Mama!" I switched gears and took him into my arms. "I'm here son; I'm not going anywhere." "Mom?" "Yes Josh; it's me. I'm not going anywhere." We hugged; I held him close. "Are you getting all of this?" Logan demanded of his staff with their one good camera. I wanted to do something about that but Josh needed me more at the moment.

Josh reached out and touched my hair, then my face. "Mom... I should have listened to you. I should never have signed up." I took his hand into mine. "You did what you thought was right son. I'm so proud of you." "Really?" "Yes; I love you no matter what." He cried at this. I touched my forehead to his. "Thank you; mom..." His breath gave out. The newsmen kept filming it but even they were silent at this.

Blessed Athena - guide Josh and all brave souls like him to Elysium...

I stood and stepped away from him so his brothers could prepare his remains for burial. No med evac birds were coming out this far this soon for one man; even a valorous one such as young Josh. For me, my only concern was for his immortal soul at this point; not his body.

The newsmen continued filming; but they stayed back/away from us. Fitz hung back; back turned to everyone. I shared a look with sarge before walking over to Lt. "LT?" His head was bowed. "Diana - what the hell have we gotten ourselves into here?" I put a hand on his shoulder. "We have each other; that's all that matters." "Really?" "Really. In the end, when this undeclared war too becomes part of forgotten history what we will always remember is each other; and what we mean to each other. And what we would do for each other; no matter what." He gave a small nod to that. He would only fully understand that as time went on; such wisdom didn't come overnight. Only sarge and I understood it in that sense of things then/there.

Logan shut down the filming and waved me over. I sighed and walked over to him. He held up his hands. "Wonder woman - I'm sorry for your loss." My eyes narrowed in skepticism but I gave a small nod. "Fine Logan; but this changes nothing." "I understand that; but I have a job to do; inasmuch as you have yours to do." "Understood; and you can film me however much you want, but if you do anything to harm these boys..." "I get it." "You better."

I left him and his cameramen with that "understanding" in place as we resumed village security ops.


	7. Chapter 7

Bad news came in; the birds wouldn't be able to come in to chopper us to the next target. We also had to leave the people here. Many could still be enemies; most probably were. Lt ordered all the found enemy ammo/supplies to be piled up for destruction. Lt sarge and I then all gathered off to the side. "There could still be enemy radios here and what not," said sarge. Lt nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know. Unfortunately we can't stick around to find out."

The order was given and the stuff was blown. We then went off into the bush for the next village target. We were ready for the fact this past village would alert the commies in the next one. We did not expect to keep stealth/surprise with what came next.

This next bush trek was hell on steroids. The men of 6AC didn't gripe despite the bad things we'd suffered already. They took it like the quiet professionals they were. It was an honor to serve among them; it always would be. These boys were America; not the people back home. I knew what would come for them in the coming years; the "war at home". There was no way they could see it. The French commies had done the same thing to their military when they'd fought their Indochina war; culminating in Dien Bien Phu.

The newsmen trailed after us, as I'd hoped they would. Sarge continued to lead the unit to the next target while Lt and I hung in the rear. The troop continued hacking/moving through the bush; the newsmen despite having the path cleared ahead of them grew fatigued quick in the ruthless jungle heat. They yelled out at us to wait up. The men cursed at these fools giving us away through the bush where Charlie and even Nathaniel Victor could intercept us. I shared a quick look with Lt; that said it all. He was an idealist still at heart; but never a fool.

I went back to the ever falling behind newsmen. "Wonder woman! Thank god! You need to wait for us; tell them to wait," said Logan. The troops continued as I stopped before the newsmen. They were surprised that the unit wouldn't wait up for them. "You need to go back to the village. The birds aren't coming for any of us." "But...that village could be full of enemies still." I couldn't help but smile at that. "I fail to see what is so humorous about that." "I'll spell it out for you Logan - you're all brother commies. So you should have nothing to worry about." "You wouldn't dare leave us here..." I let the Ares in me come out; they took a few pale steps back. "You will not do anything more than you already have to endanger my brother soldiers. This is a war zone. Go back or we cannot ensure your safety." "But-" I got right up into Logan's face but said nothing. They grew terrified as they should have. They weren't filming with their one good camera but it didn't matter.

I took my point a step further; I magically called forth my amazon armor; it appeared on me in a flash; my sword was strapped across my back. This stunned them even more. "Now!" I said. They went back the way they came. I rejoined the men in my armor; I intended to keep it on for the fights ahead. They didn't dislike my new look that was for sure.


	8. Chapter 8

Another concern I had as we pushed through the bush was sensing a growing supernatural threat. A feeling had been growing in my gut that Thep - the Ares VC agent mentioned earlier - would be making a "cameo" of sorts. I didn't tell the men this; they had enough to worry about in the mortal sense of things. "You really need to keep that look WW," said sarge with total approval of my adorned tribal armor. "I'll keep that in mind."

The bush, and terrain, grew to its thickest/most arduous ever yet in our TOD so far. We took a break after humping over a mean set of hills. The men were really feeling it now. Sarge told them to break and I dispensed my choice amazon remedies to help them recover their strength more swiftly. While they rested I asked Lt if I could scout ahead; he allowed it. I hadn't told him why though.

Thep's presence - his power being reinforced by brother - had grown quite strong. It was possible that he had brought trouble with him, including himself. I wanted to be there if that was the case.

It was late evening. It would soon be night. The men could push on for a while or rest at least in part before advancing forward. Our supplies were still good and it would be another twelve hours or so before we reached the next village; and that was an ideal estimate. But we'd be humping it for a while to be sure.

I wanted to make certain that nothing demonic was going to hinder our advance.

I was alone deep in the jungle now; I pulled free my sword; then gripped it readily in both hands before me. I could sense it now more than ever... He was there! I spun and my sword clashed with Thep's. The deafening clang from our magical blades colliding sent a massive echo throughout the bush and scared the hell out of everything living within it. "Adorned for true battle I see amazon. Excellent!" We clashed again a few more times, doing something very reminiscent of "talking swordplay" from Stars Wars (which wouldn't come out for over ten years still mind you!), and continued to assess each other's skill. "You'll fail your mortal men amazon. Surely you know that?" "Shut up already. You're not the mind gamer my brother is. You're out of your depth." We hit our swords together a few more times. "We'll see about that now won't we?" he said.

No other enemy showed up to engage; even if only from the shadows. That was damned odd; in too many ways to say... He then ceased fighting me and stepped back but kept his sword before him. "Only death and failure awaits your mortal brethren here in the already doomed republic of Vietnam, daughter of Zeus..." He then vanished as our stalemate of a skirmish suddenly ended.

I kept my blade before me, ever waiting for the demons to appear - Greek or otherwise. But nothing did.

Then, I heard it - the beginning of an intense firefight. It came from the unit's direction... I flew low through the jungle at super speed to take on this madness. As I drew nearer I could detect the sizable Charlie force that had moved in to intercept my brothers of the 6AC. It was just small arms at first, but then the Charlie mortars rained down upon the surrounded American force... It didn't take long for the skilled Charlie mortar men to zero in on the Yankees. It wasn't demon bad, yet; but it was no less bad in its own way. My brothers were in another fight for their lives. I rushed in to aid them.


	9. Chapter 9

I reached the first Charlie mortar crew closest to me and cut them to ribbons. I maintained a super speed attack pattern as night set in and the enemy, mortal in this case, took the fight to my Yankee brethren. The troops had done solid at defensively spreading out, and had done so right away, but the enemy was swiftly adapting. And while I didn't feel brother's direct involvement or fueling of this fight that could change in an instant.

I could hear the air cav guys getting nailed as the fight continued. It was now ferocious as darkness set in. Then, I did feel it; a powerful and malevolent energy was now feeding these Charlie paramilitary troops. It was making them better fighters than they actually were. Blessed Athena, goddess of war, strengthen the Americans to give them the edge they need to win here...!

My prayer was quickly responded to by my patroness in all things. The men's battle performance and morale surged from an invisible source that most of them would have called God or the holy spirit. It didn't really matter in the end; it was all the same supreme being anyway.

The men's will to fight, already strong, was enhanced to a peak degree. They did their job while I did mine. When I was at another mortar crew I smashed my bracelets together and sent out a magical shock wave to destroy them in the bush; the mortars went up with them. It shook the ground and sent thunder through the bush. I continued my attack at the next enemy fighters and cut them down in a blur of motion.

More enemy were coming in. Athena's aid was still proving vital; but Thep's power over Charlie was growing as well. This was ultimately Ares' power; it always would be. Thep was his pawn; nothing more. Still, Ares' agents were often some of the most dangerous in the universe; that's all one ever needed to know to deal with them.

The enemy was now moving in heavy MGs; one then two were going off. The troops were soon going to be pinned down. I moved around the main rifleman enemy and surged at those heavy gunners. So long as I could keep those heavy attackers down/at bay it would give the guys here better than a fighting chance, in addition to Athena's martial support as our brother's female equivalent, to successfully repel this sudden guerrilla onslaught.

I reached the first heavy gun and cut it in two at about its exact middle point. I then cut the gunner's head off and cut down his partner. I super lunged through the bush at the next gunner crew. One fired his AK at me to slow me down but my sword returned every bullet back to him and put his first five slugs right back into him. As he fell dead and was no longer able to help his comrades in more ways than one I was at that next heavy gun crew. My sword remained a sustained blur of superhuman ferocity as I took them down next with only one to two cuts per enemy; a superhuman average for yours truly.

That was it; this was where the battle could work best in our favor from here on out. Pallas - ever guide my sword hands to victory...


End file.
